The import tax collection from rice traders fell by 23.1 percent as of mid-February versus the same period last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
The DOF said in a statement yesterday the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has collected P1.71 billion in duties from rice imports by private traders under Republic Act (RA) No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) from January 1 to February 14 this year, down from the P2.22 billion recorded in the same period last year.
In a report to Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, the BOC said it has collected the said amount from 209,320 metric tons (MT) of rice imports in the first month and a half of this year.
The volume of rice imports from January to February 14 is lower by 61.8 percent from the 759,810 MT brought into the country during the same period in 2019, when the RTL was not yet in effect, the BOC said at a recent executive committee meeting of the DOF.
Dominguez was asked by reporters via Viber for the reasons behind the lower rice import volume, however he has not yet viewed the message as of press time.
“BOC collections from rice imports of private traders since the enactment of RA 11203 in March 2019 will benefit palay growers as such revenues are earmarked for the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF),” the DOF said.
The fund was set up under RA 11203 to finance farm modernization by directly providing local growers wider access to credit and training, along with funds for mechanization and inputs like fertilizer and high-quality seeds.
The excess of P10 billion collected for RCEF will also be used to finance other programs to boost the yields of farmers and improve their global competitiveness.
“As a result of the liberalized rice trade following President Duterte’s signing of RA 11203, the average retail cost of the staple has, since its enactment, fallen by at least P9 per kilo.
This trend has pulled down inflation as rice accounts for a sizable portion of the food expenses of most Filipino households,” the DOF said.
Last year, the BOC collected a total of P12.3 billion in cash revenues under the RTL from 2.03 million MT of private sector imports.
The RTL has imposed a minimum 35 percent tariff on rice imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions.
With over P12 billion in import tariffs collected in 2019, Dominguez said the government “has ample means to do even more to make our agricultural production more efficient and extend direct aid to small farmers.”
